


Injuries are a Risk We Take, I Just Wish it wasn't You

by emperorpenguin (dortmundbvbbabe)



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, canonical injuries, post-Winnipeg disaster
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-23
Updated: 2017-03-23
Packaged: 2018-10-09 13:38:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10413396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dortmundbvbbabe/pseuds/emperorpenguin
Summary: It just so happens that Olli and Justin get injured in the same game. For Olli, it's a broken hand and for Justin it's a concussion. Justin rejoins the team, though, just before the Western Canada road trip and leaves a healing Olli behind. It turns out, though Olli, was still reeling from the Winnipeg game, just not in a way that Justin had expected.Pretty much how Olli and Justin handle returning from being hurt and the worries that come with being in a relationship. It's less angsty than it sounds, I promise.





	

The night of the injuries, Justin had been vaguely aware of Olli coming back to the training room after the second period. “What happened?” Justin groaned in the dark. The lights had been dimmed for his benefit with almost near certainty that he had a concussion. 

“My hand,” Olli said. Even though Olli was being quiet, the words were like a scream in Justin’s head. 

“You okay?” Justin asked.

“I’ll know more tomorrow,” Olli said, he sat on the edge of the cushioned chair that Justin was curled up on and gently threaded his fingers through Justin’s dark curls. Justin instinctively leaned into the contact. It was the faintest of touches in order to not agitate Justin’s throbbing skull. 

 

The next day the news came in. It was confirmed that Justin had a concussion and that Olli’s hand was injured. Justin had kept his phone in the other room so that the noise of the vibration wouldn’t wake him from sleeping. He’d gotten a text from Olli that morning.  **Hand’s broken, need surgery.** The next update was from the Penguins’ official Twitter that Olli had gone into surgery to fix his injury. 

His heart sank as he realized that be the time he’d read the text, Olli was probably already in surgery, nevertheless, and Justin could and didn’t do anything.  **Hope it goes well, text me after, okay.**  He sighed. He wished that he was at the Medical Center waiting in the waiting room with a few players, or at least with Sid because he always liked to be vigilant for things like this. That was what a good boyfriend did, what Justin was supposed to be doing instead of lounging around uselessly with a concussion.

Justin brought the phone back with him into the bedroom, preferring to be woken up by any text than to miss out on any updates from Olli.

 

**Staying with the Doc tonight. Surgery went well. Hope you’re feeling better.**

 

The first couple of days after Olli’s surgery, he slept. Olli had returned to his apartment with his arm casted and he was tired from the stress of the surgery. It was a mixture of sleeping off the anaesthesia and drowsiness from the painkillers, but since Justin was feeling a little better, he was often in Olli’s apartment. Everyone knew about their relationship, it wasn’t a secret persay, but for the sake of professionalism, they’d largely divorced their relationship from team affairs. It was easier, though, when Flower and Vero came over with frozen meals since they were in the same spot and it was easier for the team to check in on both of them at once. Those were the rationales given even though they only lived a few floors apart.   

“Are you feeling better?” Sid asked on a visit. Olli was awake and up and about, his hand was wrapped in a cast, but the doctors had already begun weaning him off of the painkillers. “Alright I guess,” Olli shrugged. It was like a repeat of last year and then the year that he’d had cancer. “Starting rehab in three weeks or so, so hopefully I’ll be back before the playoffs.”

“At least we’re getting this one back soon,” Sid said as he clasped Justin’s shoulder.

“You’re going back already?” Olli asked.

“I mean I’m not cleared yet, but I’ve been skating around,” Justin said.   
“But they think you’ll be back in the next few games?” Olli asked.

“There’s no official time table, but yeah.”   
  


Justin rejoined the team for a few home games before heading out on the Western Canada road trip. He was secretly dreading heading to Edmonton, but at least he knew some friends and family who were set to come to the game against the Canucks. Olli was shockingly quiet when Justin would come over. He didn’t really talk much about his hand and they didn’t talk about Justin’s concussion. He sensed Olli’s eyes on him every time he’d take a paracetamol for a nagging headache. It wasn’t like he had a concussion still, but every now and again his head would start to ache. 

 

Olli didn’t drive to the airport to drop Justin off or join Justin in the Uber. Instead, he said his private goodbye from inside their apartment building. The hug was awkward and resembled more of a half-hug between acquaintances than a goodbye. Olli’s cast was in the way and even though he kept reassuring Justin that it didn’t hurt, Justin didn’t want to take any chances jostling it. “Be careful, okay,” Olli murmured into Justin’s shoulder. “I’m sorry I won’t be with you in Edmonton.”

“I know,” Justin said. “I’ll be okay, though.” He kissed Olli’s cheek first and then turned his head for a deeper kiss, “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” 

Olli walked him down to the lobby and waved goodbye as Justin wheeled his bag out the door and into the waiting Uber. 

 

He texted Olli intermittently and called as much as he could, but they were on two different schedules since he was in Western Canada. Leaving Olli injured and alone was the last thing that Justin had wanted to do, but they both played the sport and they both knew that it was part of the job. The calls weren’t as long as either of them wanted to be though. Olli was often tired with physical therapy and Justin would either be napping or coming back from practice or a game. 

 

They were in the middle of their trip when they played against Calgary. Justin was chasing after the puck and it ricocheted off of his stick. It jumped up and hit him squarely on his lip. He stopped slightly stunned and touched his glove to his lip. It came back red. He detoured to the bench and the medic turned to check him out. He held a towel to his lip until the bleeding finally stopped and he was relieved when he was cleared to return without needing stitches.

 

There were 8 missed calls on Justin’s phone and 15 text messages all from Olli. “Jesus, what’s up with Olli?” Flower asked when he finally got around to checking his phone. He showed Justin the screen and there were various text messages asking if Justin was okay. “You better call.”

“I will as soon as we get back to the hotel.”

 

“Are you okay?” Olli asked foregoing any greeting. 

“I just got hit by the puck,” Justin said when Olli picked up after only one ring. “I’m fine, it wasn’t even the other guy’s fault, just a bad bounce.”

“Did you get checked out?” Olli asked.

“Yes,” Justin said.

“And they cleared you to play?”

“Olli, what’s going on?” Justin asked. 

“Nothing. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“I’m fine, but you left 23 messages on my phone, 6 or so on Flower’s, that’s not, well, normal.”

“I’m just worried about you,” Olli snapped. 

“Okay, look, it’s just one more game and then I’ll be home and we can talk about this, okay?” Justin said.

“Yeah, I guess.”

 

Justin was exhausted but happy to return after the unsatisfactory ending to the road trip. He wasn’t quite sure what would be awaiting for him back at his apartment, or what sort of mood Olli was going to be in. They’d texted a little more, but hadn’t really talked since.

Justin dropped his luggage in his own apartment and headed up to Olli’s floor. He knocked on the door and faintly smiled when Olli opened it. “Hi,” Justin said.

“Hi,” Olli replied. Justin entered the apartment and Olli faintly traced over Justin’s mending upper lip. It didn’t nearly look as bad as it had after the Calgary game. 

“How’s your hand?” Justin asked.

“Better,” Olli said.

“Do you want to talk now or later?” Justin asked as he enveloped Olli into a warm hug. Even though Olli was technically the taller of the two of them, he seemed small compared to Justin’s wide frame.  

“Can we just stay like this for a little while?” Olli asked.

“Sure,” Justin said.

 

They moved to the couch and Olli lay up against Justin’s back enjoying the warm that he’d been deprived of for almost two weeks. Justin’s hand gently stroked through Olli’s hair and gradually down to his tense neck. 

“I panicked,” Olli said. “You don’t know what it was like to watch that. To see you just lying on the ice. You weren’t even moving.”

“I’m sorry,” Justin said even though he couldn’t have helped it.

“And then they played the clip again when you were in Winnipeg and I just freaked out, and you got in in the face and it was like it happened all over again. I panicked.”

“I’m okay,” Justin said, he turned Olli so that  they were looking in each other’s eyes. “I’m okay. But it’s part of the job, you know that.”

“But not the head stuff,” Olli said, “It’d be easier if it was a pulled muscle or a sprain or even a broken bone… but the head stuff, it scares me.”

“Is that why you called all those times?” Justin asked.

“Yeah,” Olli looked a little embarrassed, “I just needed to know that you were okay, that you weren’t concussed again.”  
“I’m good,” Justin said, he pressed his forehead up against Olli’s and coaxed a smile out of him. “Besides, don’t you think I go crazy when you’re down on the ice? I almost lost it when Orpik too you out in the playoffs.”

“I just don’t want anything to happen to you,” Olli said as he cupped Justin’s cheek. 

“I know and I don’t want anything to happen, but it’s a job risk. So if something happens then we’ll deal with it,  _ together _ , okay?”

“Okay,” Olli agreed and leaned down to kiss Justin. His nose smushed up against Justin’s cheek, just right above where the skin was still healing over. And maybe that was the only guarantee they could have, but for right now, it was enough. 

  
  
  
  
  



End file.
